Manchester United players reported to training on Wednesday morning and began working on a tactical plan devised by manager Erik ten Hag for the weekend trip to Brentford. Ten Hag’s first game in charge, a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton the previous Sunday, had been a major setback and he informed his players of two substantial changes to their line-up.
The first was to restore aging superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the starting line-up after only being on the bench against Brighton, which in turn facilitated the second alteration, which would see new signing Christian Eriksen end up his short and baffling spell as a false nine and instead, he operates much more deeply as a defensive midfielder.
As such, two positions were altered, but only one player left the losing game at Old Trafford – midfielder Scott McTominay.
While the tactical plan was set on Wednesday, only 10 line-up positions were clear to the players at the time as the Ten Hag only settled for club captain Harry Maguire, instead of the 2018 World Cup winner, Raphael Varane, as partner of Lisandro Martinez. — another newcomer — in central defense on Thursday.
In short, United spent three full days working out how they would beat one of the few Premier League teams they beat both home and away last season.
It was quite extraordinary, therefore, that United went 4-0 up inside 35 minutes in a performance that their lowly goalkeeper David de Gea later described as “horrendous” and “unacceptable”.
The 45-game Spanish international, who has been at the club for 11 years, has insisted on speaking afterwards to both broadcasters and print media to apologise. Pleaded guilty to Brentford’s first two goals.
Ten Hag believes De Gea can play from the back despite his mistakes (Getty Images)
Ten Hag, however, saw Saturday’s humiliation as a collective affront. He said United’s performance offered confirmation of his conclusion last week that he had “a hell of a job” on his hands following a summer move from reigning Dutch champions Ajax.
He admitted in a post-match press conference: “Brentford were hungrier by one, and two, we conceded goals through individual mistakes. You can have a good plan, but then you put it in the bin.”
He had previously told an international broadcaster that his team’s performance had been “rubbish”.
The aftermath began in west London on Saturday night and culminated in an aborted rest day for the players, a fresh frenzy over Ronaldo’s future, renewed questions about dressing room unity and even more pressure on the club to the last two weeks. of the summer transfer market.
Ten Hag made his feelings known to the players, at half-time and then again at full-time, before informing them that the rest day scheduled for yesterday was cancelled.
Instead, the squad, who arrived home in the Manchester area at around 11pm after traveling from London, were ordered to report to the club’s training base in Carrington on Sunday at 9 a.m., where the retribution of Ten Hag continued.
The coaching staff were embarrassed by statistics which showed United’s players covered a total distance of 95.6km in the match, compared to Brentford’s 109.4km. As such, the Ten Hag team ran a session, just a run session, which forced every player, even those who didn’t start on Saturday, to run close enough to the 13.8 gap km between the combined distances of the two teams during this additional training. session
While many supporters unhappy with their players’ enforcement may cheer this hardline approach, a sports scientist with experience of working at rival Premier League clubs described it as old-school and said it was unusual to put the players through such rigorous training. the morning after an afternoon game.
United sources insist their medical and sports science staff would not approve any training that carried a high risk of injury, and it is understood a couple of players, because of the way injuries were managed, were excused.
United’s players had arrived in blisteringly hot temperatures of over 34C for the game which kicked off at 5.30pm on Saturday and it was another warm day in Manchester yesterday, albeit only in the mid 20s.
Ten Hag clearly wanted to impress upon his players that there is a way to lose in United colors and he will not tolerate his players being outclassed by lowly opponents like Brentford, who finished 13th last season in his first year in charge player Premier League club.
Sources close to the new United manager say his resolve has only been strengthened by these early setbacks and he will challenge the players to improve. Ten Hag also made his feelings clear to his players during several meetings at Carrington after the race session.
Ten Hag ordered his players to undergo a running session after the defeat to Brentford (Getty Images)
While the mood on Sunday was somber, several sources representing United’s players said they had been impressed by the manager’s discipline, attention to detail and methodology since arriving at the club . The reality, however, is that these traits have not translated into performances.
The Athletic asked Brentford head coach Thomas Frank how he instills that elusive hunger in his squad.
He said: “We talked about it before the game, but you can’t just say, ‘Oh, can you do it?’ “. It’s a long strategy and communication. In general, my teams run a lot. We enforce the message that we have to do it. It’s also about passing, but if you run more than the opponent, you have a very good chance of winning” .
For Ten Hag, the debris from Saturday’s devastation required more unpacking, and he sat down with his circle of assistants to mull over the best way forward.
Chief among Ten Hag’s current concerns is the situation surrounding Ronaldo, who missed United’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, with the club attributing his absence to a family issue.
Numerous reports emerged claiming the 37-year-old striker wanted to leave a club he only joined last summer after 12 years playing in Spain and Italy amid fears United may not be able to achieve their ambitions outside of La Liga of Champions: will play. in the Europa League this season after finishing sixth in May, and the slow pace of their work in the summer transfer market.
Ronaldo, however, is yet to receive a serious offer from a Champions League-qualified club, despite attempts by his representatives to woo Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona .
Ten Hag, meanwhile, initially wanted United to go deep and keep one of the game’s best players on their books. He felt that even at this age, Ronaldo remains a world-class goalscorer who cannot afford to lose – he led United with 24 goals in all competitions last season, 14 ahead of his next player more prolific
Ten Hag preferred to devote the bulk of their transfer kitty to bolstering their defense with the £47m ($57m) signing of Martinez from previous employers Ajax and the £14.4m signing of the full-back Tyrell Malacia from Dutch rivals Feyenoord. The club also have a deal worth up to £71.9m with Barcelona for their former Ajax Dutch international midfielder Frenkie de Jong, if they can only persuade the player to reunite with Ten Hag in England
However, since returning from United’s tour, which saw strong performances and strong unity develop among the traveling group, Ronaldo’s reintegration into the squad has proved a challenge.
Athletic have reported days when he lunches alone in Carrington’s canteen, while he has been seen flailing his arms in training and trying to argue against the high-pressure approach favored by the new manager. Both the club and Ronaldo’s representatives were approached for comment.
Several sources close to United, who asked not to be named to protect their business relationships, argued that Ronaldo has been given more leeway than his team-mates and has indulged himself beyond the contribution he currently provides to the club.
While United are yet to receive any formal interest in Ronaldo, it is now believed that Ten Hag would be willing to allow the 189-cap Portugal captain to leave, but only if United recruit in the forward position, where they currently have no options. .
Ten Hag is open to Ronaldo leaving if United can recruit in attack (Getty Images)
Ronaldo further exasperated managers and supporters when he failed to acknowledge the traveling United fans after the full-time whistle, despite assistant manager Steve McClaren appearing to urge him on.
It must be said that Ronaldo did take part in the exercises yesterday morning.
It’s not just Ronaldo who has raised eyebrows, with sources close to other United players surprised by reports that the brother and representative of fellow striker Marcus Rashford had met with reigning French champions Paris Saint-Germain to in talks over the last few weeks. Rashford’s contract at Old Trafford runs out at the end of this season, although United have the option to extend it by a further year.
One ray of light, however, is that striker Anthony Martial, who missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury, is now back in first-team training.
As United continue to look for options in the market, Atletico Madrid’s Spanish international Álvaro Morata, 29, has emerged as an option. A move for Jamie Vardy is also being considered, but Leicester are reluctant to let the 36-year-old former England striker go. United have been linked with Espanyol’s Raúl De Tomas, who has scored 45 goals in 89 games for the Barcelona club.
Ten Hag’s problems, of course, go far beyond Ronaldo’s future and…